Over the years, there have also been a number of studies looking at the links between obesity and cancer. However, the impact of when food is eaten has been much less studied.

A recent study investigated potential links between meal timing and two common types of cancer: prostate cancer and breast cancer.

These cancers are also known to be linked with night-shift work and disruption to the biological clock, which infers that they might be sensitive to the timing of lifestyle factors, too.

In all, the scientists had access to data from 621 men with prostate cancer and 1,205 women with breast cancer. As controls, they also included 872 males and 1,321 females without cancer.

Participants’ lifestyles were assessed, including information about their meal times and sleeping habits. They also defined their chronotype — that is, whether they are a morning or an evening person.

A new study suggests that gut bacteria influence the intestinal circadian clock to promote a higher intake and retention of fat.

Their findings, which are published in the International Journal of Cancer, make surprising reading.

People who ate their evening meal before 9:00 p.m. or at least 2 hours before going to bed had around 20 percent less risk of breast or prostate cancer than those who ate after 10:00 p.m. or went to bed soon after eating.

“Our study concludes that adherence to diurnal eating patterns is associated with a lower risk of cancer. [The findings] highlight the importance of assessing circadian rhythms in studies on diet and cancer.”

There will need to be follow-up work to confirm these startling conclusions, but if these results are replicated, they could have an impact on official guidelines — which do not currently take into account the timing of meals.

As researcher Dora Romaguera explains, previous animal studies have shown that the timing of food intake has “profound implications for food metabolism and health.”

However, unraveling the precise interactions between these factors is likely to take a great deal of unpicking.

Eventually, this insight could have far-reaching consequences, as Kogevinas explains, “The impact could be especially important in cultures such as those of southern Europe, where people have [dinner] late.”

The results are striking, but Romaguera is cautiously optimistic, saying, “Further research in humans is needed in order to understand the reasons behind these findings, but everything seems to indicate that the timing of sleep affects our capacity to metabolize food.”